Time to tackle accident blackspot

Last year, a man in his mid-70s pulled out of a side street onto Earlham Road on his bike.

The driver of a car, heading out of Norwich, failed to spot him in time. He later died in hospital from his injuries.

During the inquest into his death, it struck me maybe it’s time for local people to tackle this issue head-on.

Coverage of this inquest prompted an angry reaction from readers:

Harry Cole says: Jul 11, 2011, 13:29pm

…”The whole of the Golden Triangle is plagued with idiots using residential roads as their own personal racetrack, and even when they kill someone they get a slap on the wrist.”

Susan Pearsehouse says: Jul 12, 2011, 13:02pm

…”Why is the sentence unbelievably lenient? The message is clear, speed as much as you like, you won’t get caught, there is no enforcement, and when the inevitable happens and you snuff a life out and tear a family apart you merely suffer 12 month’s inconvenience.”

One idea posed by ward councillor Andrew Boswell (Nelson, Green), is to install a sign which flashes “30″ if a driver goes over the speed limit. A simple, effective way of reminding drivers they’re in a 30 mph zone. Andrew Boswell had already witnessed another accident on the same stretch of road, in which 2 cars collided. The driver in the fatal case, pleaded guilty to death by careless driving and was disqualified from driving for a year.

But it might not be so simple. A call to Norwich City Council prompted this response: “Communities at present cannot buy public assets such as this; otherwise there would be an awful lot of road humps and pedestrian crossings in more wealthy areas[...]However in light of big society policies, we are considering more involvement of communities such as DIY streets and Community Speed Watch in Norwich.”

DIY Streets explain on their website: “We will work with local communities to develop low cost capital works that make their streets safer and more attractive, aiming to find simple interventions and materials which can be both effective and durable.”

So in an era of “Big Society” it may be possible to gain support for a flashing sign for a known accident black spot, if the cost isn’t prohibitive.

Alongside this, cyclists may need more support. In Thorpe, the council is trialling a scheme which may be rolled out elsewhere. There, drains have been covered over, to allow cyclists to ride along beside the pavement. And new cycle logos have been marked out and road centre lines removed. Other councils have trialled similar schemes and found they significantly reduced speeding. The Thorpe Scheme is costing £37,000 to trial for a year.

In an era of cuts, extending it to Earlham Road may be unrealistic. But maybe it’s time for our community to look into the DIY Streets initiative, rather than just standing by, waiting for the next accident to happen.

Tags: crime, Earlham Road, Transport

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